Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by deruiz10:

A - Quite a beautiful amber, slightly reddish with hints of honey-color. Eggshell head is minimal and quickly dissipates, leaves no lacing.

S - Very fruity (mostly cherry) and bright, slight hints of alcohol.

T - Pretty mild up front, body is light but cherry flavors pop out after a moment, mixing with the fruityspicy taste of the typical Belgian dark. The finish is also characterized by a slightly spicy, but subdued taste of hops which serves to mask the relatively high alcohol content well, with cherry flavors also lingering.

M - Fairly light and refreshing, good amount of carbonation.

D - A little too sweet to have more than one in an evening, plus that alcohol content will really sneak up on you. However, it's probably one of the better fruity holiday beers out there in terms of balancing refreshment value with a seasonal holiday flavor without becoming too syrupy or overwhelming.

More User Reviews:

Appearance: Clear, ruby red - pours with a medium-sized, off-white head - fades to a wispy cap, leaves a few streaks of lacing

Smell: Dark malts and a ton of cherries - cherries to the max, kind of like a cross between cherry preserves and cherry-flavored cough syrup - some honey, but it's more of a straight-up sugar - some Belgian yeast, with some spices, clove, banana, and bubblegum - very sweet and very boozy overall

Taste: Sweet, boozy, spicy - apparently this is a winter warmer of sorts that was meant to be slowly sipped over the course of a multi-day snowstorm - a borderline absurd amount of cherry, with a side of cherry cough syrup - lots of honey flavor - like with the cherry, there's a bit too much honey - Belgian yeast, with some serious clove, banana, bubblegum, and a big dose of phenols - some dark caramel malts, with more sugar - the sweet malts, cherry flavor, and phenolic yeast create something that definitely tastes reminiscent of some kind of medicine

Mouthfeel: More or less a full body, with some syrupy stickiness, finishes with booze

Candied fruits woven in soft, caramelized grains is a breif descriptor. Alcohol strength providing the power to fuel the malts and esters. This beer shares a lot of similarities to Ommegang's Three Philosophers with it's candied cherry additions, higher alcohols, all leading into a fruit cake meets cough syrup taste; just tempered into a malty flavor that lures beer lovers like moths to flames. This beer begins with a bright copper color, low head formation and retention, with lacing substitued by legging. A real Barleywine appearance. Aromas are chocked full of esters and alcohol sweetness. Cherries make a definate impact along with notes of rum, roses, and delicate nectar sweetness. All that trancends nicely into taste with malt sweetness becomming the forefront elements- soft, bready, caramelly, and flavorful. Alcoholic heat makes the transition from flavor to body an easy one. Malty and sweet, this beer again takes on Barleywine proportions. The low hop character screams English Barleywine even though the maltiness is subtle and delicate. What a lovely beer that displays a lot of character from sweet to spicy; floral to alcoholic; fruity to bready;... the complexity descriptors can go on and on.

Appearance: Clear red/amber color with a small head that quickly dissipates and leaves just a little bit of lacing

Smell: Clove, bananas and honey predominate in the nose; malts and cherry in the background

Taste: Quite complex; starts out with a blast of alcohol which then reveals a variety of fruit flavors; more candied fruit with bananas than cherry at the outset; in the middle, the tongue starts to tingle from the carbonation and then it winds up finishing with clove, cherry and honey flavors - very subtle

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a bit of carbonation; warmth in the gullet from the ABV

T- The fruity components are noticed first followed by a milk chocolate flavor across the palate. The finish is long and lingering, but far from cloying. (4.5)

M- Despite the lingering milk chocolate sweetness, it finishes quite dry, making this full-bodied beer easy to consume. Although not much head formed, the beer's carbonation is near-perfect. (4.75)

O- Regardless of category, this is a well-crafted beer...and perhaps one of the best in Troegs' profile. It blurs the lines between a Belgian Quadruple, Belgian Dark Ale, Fruit Beer and English Strong Ale. Very Unique and again, very well executed. If you have a love for big Belgian inspired beers, this is a must try! (4.5)

A nice find last night at the Spring House Drafting Room,pours a nice ruby red with a nice creamy,sticky head,aroma is spicey with a light smoky tinge to it.I got the flavors of spiced cherries with tha light smokey flavor with some alcohol note as it warms.Troegs is one of my favorite PA brewers and this offering reinforces that thought.

Appearance  Clear and bright orangish-red in color with a very shallow head, probably from the high ABV.

Smell  Big mix of cherry and orange juice, mostly cherry, with a dash of cranberry and yeast. Theres a noticeable but very easy whiff of alcohol as well.

Taste  The yeast comes out more at the taste and mixes well with the cherry juice and booze. This is a sipping ale in every sense. Some spices come out at the finish, making this one a very complex and interesting ale.

Mouthfeel  This one is light for a BSDA but with a strong alcohol sting, probably too much for most. It is smooth as glass though, so watch out!

Drinkability  I enjoyed this one, as did many of my BA Bros, but I wouldnt offer this to a friend unless they can appreciate the style interpretation. This is for the serious-minded only, but if youre up for it its one hell of an experience.

Comments  OldFrothingSlosh sent this one to me out of the blue, and boy was I ever glad that he did. A big THANX for getting this one out to me  BeerAdvocates rule!

Mad Elf is dark maple colored brew with a thin tan head. It is strongly perfumed with an aroma of cherry-flavored cough syrup that quickly overwhelms faint wisps of hop.

Taste opens spicy with phenols, then sweet malt kept in check by cherry vapors and alcoholic burn. I get a slight tartness in the background and possibly a banana note. The mouthfeel is viscous, thick, flat and syrupy, but I was only able to feel that once my tounge had been numbed to the scorching alcohol.

This is a valient attempt at a new take on x-mas beer but I am not into it. I have been very impressed with the other Troegs beers I've tried, but find Mad Elf a little to close to Mad Dog.

This one came to me from the great generosity of Hophead101. A holiday brew but I wanted to drink it tonight before the weather gets warm. One last look back at winter before I throw myself into the summer spirit.

A: Poured from a 12oz bottle, it didn't deliver much of a head. Dissipated almost immediately to a ring. Color is a lovely dark cherry amber.

S: I think I detect honey. Mostly, I catch a whiff of malt and a powerful mix of berry like smell. There is cherry there but it smells more of tart cranberry. Boozy smell too.

T: I was trying to pick out the flavors and there is definitely a mix of the things I smelled. The trouble was that I could help but focus on the the high alcohol manifesting itself in a sherry type taste that wasn't that appealing to me. The mix of sherry and diacetyl was just too much.

M: Light and clean body. Medium fine carbonation.

D: The finish and aftertaste is dry and makes you want to continue drinking this beer. Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me at all. I'd like to re-visit it around holiday time but I think Great Lakes Christmas Ale is still my go-to festive brew.

A cult classic among, beer geeks in the know. From the label to the ingredients it screams Christmas. Crystal-clear red color garners a thin white lacing. Yeasty phenols to cherries to ripe fruit to spice, an amazing nose. Creamy mouthfeel with a bit of crispness to lift the full body. Alcohol chimes in first with lots of warmth, spice and rose water. Cherry juice, candied fruit and faint medicinal flavors hit the middle with a small tartness within. Spice picks up middle to end, making way for the alcohol to really warm. Sweet, spicy finish. This is one of those slow- sipping nightcap brews--after a long day of holiday bustling, you'll probably need one of these.

T - Clean malt flavors up front, the dark cherry flavor then comes on but not overpowering at all, nor does it have the sourness of a lambic. It then ends with some light banana flavors.

M - Moderate body, was expecting it to be a touch lighter. Leaves a little coating on your mouth, would like a touch more carbonation to clean that up. The alcohol warmth is noticeable and nice.

D - For such a high alcohol beer this is pretty damn drinkable. Does NOT drink like a Stong Dark Ale, in fact, I don't think it is one. More of a Belgian Specially Ale. Not stellar, but certainly a good drinking brew.

T: A strong cherry flavor with some honey taste coming through. Lots of spice on the back end. Lots of malt and very little hops. The alcohol hides alot.

M: Thick and sticky from the fruit but very smooth. Not much heat to speak of.

D: For 11% alcohol this is certainly very drinkable. A little too thick to want to drink outside of winter.

Having not read the reviews before trying this I was a bit surprised. It's a little too fruity, has a little too much spice for the fruitness, is a little too alcoholic, but has a little too little alcholic flavor showing.... yet it's a decent beer and one I'd drink again this winter.

I've been hanging onto this one and can't wait to try it. Departs the bottle a wonderful golden red with hints of pink even along with a nice off white head. Sweet cherry Lifesaver aroma wafts up into my nose along with some earthy yeasty notes. Mmmm...lovely aroma.

First sip is a mix of honey/cherry sweet malty goodness along with a nice helping of barnyard/earthy yeast tones. There's a nice spiciness that's running through here too..maybe some nutmeg...I can't pick it out. A damn tasty belgian style winter brew!

Nice creamy, full mouthfeel with good carbonation. No complaints from me. Drinkability is good, as this is a tasty brew I could have a few of. Many thanks to blitheringidiot and merlin48 for hooking me up with some bottles of this!